Sadiq Khan tried to ‘silence’ scientists who claimed Ulez has little impact on pollution

SADIQ Khan’s office tried to discredit and “silence” scientists who found that his ultra-low emissions zone (Ulez) policy had little impact on pollution, The Telegraph can disclose.

In private emails seen by The Telegraph, Shirley Rodrigues, the London Mayor’s deputy for environment and energy, told Prof Frank Kelly she was “really disappointed” that Imperial College had publicised findings questioning the effectiveness of Ulez.

Prof Kelly, a director of Imperial’s Environmental Research Group, which has been paid more than £800,000 by Mr Khan’s office since 2021, agreed to issue a statement – partly written by Ms Rodrigues – saying Ulez had helped to “dramatically reduce air pollution”.

London Conservatives said the correspondence revealed an “alarmingly cosy relationship” between the Mayor’s office and the scientists it was funding, as well as a desire to “silence scientists who question the effectiveness of Khan’s policies”.

Professor Kelly’s colleagues said they stood by their research “100 per cent”, but The Telegraph understands that the fallout has left them unwilling to publish further work on the subject.

The study from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, published in the journal Environmental

Research Letters in 2021, found that the introduction of Ulez in 2019 cut nitrogen dioxide by less than three per cent and had insignificant effects on ozone and particulate matter.

Peter Fortune, the Conservative London Assembly Member for Bexley and Bromley, two of the boroughs challenging the Ulez expansion, said: “It is unacceptable that Sadiq Khan and his deputy conspired to silence legitimate research because it would damage the Mayor’s reputation and credibility.

“Sadiq Khan has claimed he is just following the science, yet he has been using scientific advisors to protect his own interests. Science relies on open, transparent debate.”

Imperial’s Environmental Research Group has been paid at least £802,958 by Mr Khan’s office since 2021, including a payment of £45,958 for a report on the “future health benefits of mayoral air quality policies” which has been widely cited by the Mayor despite not being peer reviewed.

Cllr Colin Smith, the leader of Bromley Council, said: “When academics are paid for their research, it quite reasonably leads to questions being asked about the outcomes sought by those commissioning the work.

“Indeed, as long ago as last autumn we directly challenged Imperial as to their methodology and the conclusions of some of their research, and the revelation of these emails now serves to seriously heighten those concerns.”

Emails released under Freedom of Information requests show Ms Rodrigues wrote to Professor Kelly on November 16, 2021, complaining that Sky News, The Times and The Mail were Continued on Page 2

‘Khan has used scientific advisors to protect his interests. Science relies on open, transparent debate’